Seeking Home
by Curved Silence of Ishtar
Summary: This takes place with my Crusader, Mordak. Beginning in act 1 of Diablo 3, in the Sheltered Cottage in the Fields of Misery. Inside he finds a girl, the lone survivor of a goatman raid. She swears she can be useful, so let's see what a 14 year old can help a surly knight do in the battle against evil. Please review, so I can try to improve myself and this story for you.
1. Chapter 1

There was a time that he would have been sickened by the sight before him, when he would have shed tears over the people who lay draped over blood-soaked furniture and wished to give them proper burial. He sometimes wondered when his heart became so cold...

Mordak scanned the room, his dark eyes emotionless at the gore that spattered the walls and floor. Khazra and human blood both. His training as a Crusader had made the creatures that has slaughtered the family in this home easy targets, though the damage had, unfortunately, already been done. He turned to leave when he heard a thump and a muffled yelp.

There was somebody else here.

He pulled his mace from his belt, the familiar weight in his hand easing his startled mind a bit. He had met evil humans on his road as well as monsters, and he was not surprised to learn that one was lying in wait for him to finish off the monsters first before attacking on their own.

"Who goes?"

The door of a dresser creaked open slightly, and he could see a sliver of a pale face peeking through. The one within was obviously afraid of him, but who would not fear one like him? Armor covered in blood, mace in one hand and a shield in the other, glaring at your hiding place.

"I..."

He sighed and tucked his weapon back into the loop that held it on his belt. This was no enemy, or they would have come at him already.

"Come out. You're safe for now."

He raised an eyebrow as a pale hand pushed open the door of the dresser and a small girl wiggled out, hair matted and dirty and clothes in desperate need of a wash. She only came up to his chest, a scrawny thing. He felt a slight pang of guilt when he saw her eyes, green and wide as saucers, go around the room, skating over the bodies of what he assumed was her family.

"Thank you. Mother told me to hide, so..."

She gestured lamely toward her dresser, her eyes fixing on Mordak's face, looking like she was trying to come to a decision.

He really didn't have time for this, but he also knew he couldn't leave a child on her own out here. She wouldn't last an hour. He took a deep breath and tried to soften his voice a little when he spoke.

"What's your name?"

"Tessa. Mother named me for her sister, who died when they were little. She said that-"

"Alright. Tessa, this place isn't safe. I'm taking you to town, where somebody will look out for you."

His mind skipped through people he thought would be safe to leave her with. Haedrig, Cain, the couple who ran the small inn...

She was shaking her head at him, then scurrying around the house. She threw things into a bag and grabbed an ugly pot helmet from inside the dresser, as well as a battered bow.

"...What are you doing?"

"Going with you."

A short bark of laughter was surprised from him when she said this, and when she picked up a quiver of arrows from the floor he raised his eyebrows.

She was serious.

"Where I am going is no place for little girls."

She spun on her heel, the wide eyes that looked so empty and nervous before taking on a defiant light.

"I am not a little girl."

"You are small and female, as far as I can tell, and a child besides."

"I am not a child! Father said that he was going... going to..." She shook her head "I will be 15 in three moons. You killed those goatmen, and you can teach me how."

"Khazra. Girl-"

"I can be useful! I can cook! I-I can wash clothes and sew and hunt! I can help you fight!"

Her voice had taken on a desperate tone, her eyes bright and thin face beseeching. He sighed and began to walk out the door, throwing a look over his shoulder as he set a fast walking pace.

"Keep up. I won't slow down. If you fall behind, you're on your own. Do exactly as I tell you, exactly when I tell you."

He prayed that by repeating his master's words upon his first meeting with the old Crusader would keep her in line. He would be going to town soon again anyway, he could leave her there then.


	2. Chapter 2

Mordak walked in silence, his eyes always on watch for danger. His new... companion, for lack of a better word, close at his heels. At first she had been silent, watching him as closely as he watched the passing landscape, but after about an hour of travel she began to ask him questions nearly constantly.

"What's your name?"

"How old are you?"

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Have you ever been to Caldeum?"

He had answered her with patience. She was a child, and that was what children did, he told himself. Nevertheless, with every question that she asked, he began to wish she had not found her voice so soon. He was glad that her constant chatter had not drawn any monsters yet, though he had no doubt that eventually something would hear her in time and come to investigate. His thoughts were interrupted by a thud from behind him.

Tessa was lying face-down, a loose stone inches from her foot. She looked up from under her pot-like helmet and smiled sheepishly.

"Papa always said I shouldn't run my mouth so much, because when I talk I stop minding my feet..."

Mordak sighed and shook his head.

"Your father was right. There are worse things than loose stones that will trip you up if you can't mind your tongue."

"...right."

He walked only a few steps before he heard her feet behind him again, and said a silent thanks to Zakarum to find she did not attempt to engage him in conversation again. Her quiet feet were the only sound he heard from her until the sun began to set, then he had begun to hear her panting.

Glancing behind him, he decided it was perhaps time to stop for a few hours. He could have easily made it back to New Tristram without stopping, but it was obvious Tessa's strength was flagging. Her skin was even paler now, and she was soaked in sweat, her face set in a pained grimace as she limped along. So focused on her walking, she slammed into his back when he stopped.

"Oof! Oh, I'm sorry..." she looked around "Why are we stopping?"

"Resting. Sit while you can, girl-"

"Tessa."

"We leave in a few hours."

Without another word, the girl flopped to the grass and pulled the helm from her head. The hair underneath had already been matted, and now stuck to her skull. Mordak pulled a waterskin from his pack and tossed it to her before drinking from another one. When he saw how greedily she drank, his eyebrows came together in concern.

"Is that the first water you've had this whole time?"

She stopped drinking, gasping for air before answering him.

"First I've had in almost two days. I couldn't go get any with the monsters in my house."

"Did you not take any with you when you decided to come with me?"

A shy smile spread across her face, which had turned red in embarrassment.

"Ah, no. I... forgot."

He sighed and sat a short distance from her, lying his shield and mace beside him. He may not have been tired, but his back appreciated the respite from the heavy objects.

"You need to learn how to plan. Always have water and food on your person. Flint and steel, bandages and a few potions for emergencies. Being prepared will save your life."

Tessa nodded, holding the waterskin out to him. He shook his head and told her to keep it, saying it would not do to have to stop to get it out for her every time she was thirsty.

Tessa dozed off shortly after she ate a few hard biscuits, promising she would be ready to continue their march at a moment's notice when he gave the word. Mordak kept watch, his back to her, and tried to ignore the whimpers that came from behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Mordak was gentle when he shook Tessa awake, keeping his head back in case she came up swinging. She had been making little sounds of fear for a while, and it really was about time they got moving again. Her startled yelp scared a few birds from their roosts, which in turn startled her all over again.

"Where-?"

Her big green eyes darted around wildly, then settled on Mordak before a look of recognition replaced the panic.

"It's time to go. Get your things."

Tessa sniffed, wiping tear tracks from her thin cheeks. She wanted so badly to go back to sleep, but she didn't want to be left in the wilderness on her own. She pushed her helmet onto her head and lifted her small pack onto her shoulder and tied her quiver to her hip, hoping the constant motion would draw her mind from the nightmares. Her sleep had always been bad, prone to nightmares, but now they were all filled with images of her family's final moments.

…...

 _Her mother screamed when they cut down her father. The Khazra pike striking him between his shoulder and neck. She could hear the sickening crunch of breaking bone from her hiding place, and when she peeked through a crack in the door, she saw his blood painting the wall as well as the fur of the creature before him. His hand grabbing uselessly at the wound as he gurgled for his wife to run._

 _Her mother tried to defend herself, but froze when she heard the sound of a screaming child, Tessa's younger brother. One of the raiders had spied his little foot behind the heavy oak bed. The little boy was dragged out and the creatures seemed to laugh as they pulled at him. The boy shrieked as his limbs first came out of their sockets, then tore completely free of his torso. Her mother had slung herself at the Khazra, knife in hand. She managed to hit one in the chest, but the small blade didn't do much against the thick skin and layers of muscle._

 _She joined her husband and son when the creature's huge hands tore her head from her shoulders. All Tessa could do was sit in the dresser, her mouth covered by one hand while the other clutched a music box. A silly thing to grab, but it was her treasure, and the last thing of value she could lose..._


	4. Chapter 4

This girl surprised him.

Mordak watched as Tessa scrambled up onto a tall rock that jutted out of the earth, tailed by wounded plague bat. His eyes only leaving his own enemy for only a moment. The girl was fast, he had to give her that. When they had stumbled across a swarm of the vile creatures, he was sure that her first instinct would be to run.

But she had instead pulled her bow and shot one straight through it's deformed head, pinning it to a tree stump with a wet thud. Most of them went for him, their sharp fangs and claws leading, only to be slammed back my his shield. His mace whistled through the air as he chanted, calling upon the power of Zakarum. A stream of electricity followed his weapon, catching several of the bats by surprise as they spasmed on the ground around him.

Four arrows ended their lives, his boots took the rest. He heard the sound of disgust she made from behind him and nearly laughed. He had stopped caring about blood and guts on his clothes long ago, and the sounds of battle were long dull in his ears. He listened and glanced her way when he was able, trying to keep an eye on the girl. Her arrows were limited, after all, and he did not want her surviving all that she had only to be taken down by a bat, of all things.

Tessa liked being on higher ground. It was much easier to see where things were coming from, and less chance of accidentally hitting her largely silent benefactor. She could see the giant bat that was spitting more bats onto the field, it's large eyes blind and sunken over it's twisted fang-filled mouth. It's wings, or at least what was left of them, were atrophied and twisted things that fluttered uselessly at it's sides. She shot it once, only to see the arrow bounce off it's scaly hide.

Her hands were cramping. She used this bow for years for hunting, but that was against normal animals that had never fought back. She had never shot this much this quickly before... She held her bow in her teeth and shook her hands loose. She had to keep going. She had to show she could take care of herself. She had to prove it to Mordak, and to herself.

Four arrows. Four shots left... By the time she got those off, Mordak would no doubt be over there too, pummeling the creature to death with the mace that he tended so carefully.

She lifted her bow and aimed carefully. Body shots wouldn't work on it, not with the tiny bow she had. She lined up the arrow with the blind eye closest to her.

 _Twing!_ The arrow hit a bat that had been vomited up by it's monstrous 'mother' and fell to the ground buried in it's scabby torso. _Twang!_ She aimed too high, and her arrow whizzed straight over the beast to fall elsewhere. The third shot was met with a keening shriek. Gore shot from it's ruined eye and it swayed, it's wings flailing as it tried to strike whatever had harmed it. Her last shot hit it's mouth, or rather, just inside it. The wooden shaft was shattered when the massive jaws closed, blood spattering the grass in front of it.

Mordak was charging the thing, electricity sparking from the mace in his hand and light glaring off his shield. She sat back on her haunches with a small sigh. He would be able to kill the thing outright. Her arrows had at least kept it from bringing more bats to harass him.

Her breathing was heavy as she wiped sweat from her brow with a shaking hand. She went to call for him when something caught her from behind, dragging her from off her stone perch. The smell of rot was hard to detect at first, over the smell of the diseased bats, but she could smell it now as grey-skinned hands yanked at her.

She shrieked and squirmed, hoping to break free from the rotting corpse that held her. When her elbow connected with the thing's shoulder, it released her and stumbled back a step. She spun and watched as the corpse shambled toward her. She had no arrows and no mace. Without thinking, she lifted her bow and brought it down on the zombie's head. The wood creaked as it hit and tore away a chunk of the vile thing's scalp and face, but it was not enough. She skipped back and swung it again, the crunch of bone drowning the splintering of wood as she shattered it's nose and dislocated it's jaw, sending rotten teeth skittering away in a haze of congealed black blood and drool.

A deafening roar of wind shoved the creature forward and Tessa felt herself get grabbed around her waist and tossed aside. Mordak's mace came down on the thing's head. Once, twice, three times. Finally the shambler fell, it's head a sodden mass of broken bone and decaying brain.

She looked up at the Crusader, her face pale and sweating. He pulled her up by her shaking hands and put a steadying hand on her shoulder when she swayed for a moment.

"Are you alright? You did well."

Tessa's only answer was to lurch forward and vomit over the corpse.

"That's about what I expected."


End file.
